Freezing & Auto Darkening Helmets

[enbloc]

I did some searching both at large on the net, and in the archives here, but didn't get an answer to this question. I'm also not sure which forum is the appropriate place to ask this, but I know all the people who could answer it will see it here anyway.

Does freezing damage autodarkening welding helmets? I bought one when it went on sale a while back, but am just now getting around to needing it. Unfortunately, it was out in the shop over winter. I have some shutter glasses (3D stereo thing) from work which are just old - never frozen, and they show a good bit of spotting and streaking, which has me a bit concerned (about the helmet. It's not a real big deal if my eyes get 5% image crosstalk with the shutter glasses.)

 

[blackd]

Bought mine @ a year ago. Used in Aug & Sept then left it out in the garage all winter. No damage that I can tell.

 

[MadReferee]

Try asking your question here

welders discussion boards

Its the Hobart/Miller forum and those guys over there should be able to answer your question.

 

[Boondox]

Ditto for me. Last winter was bitterly cold, with sustained temps in the minus 20s. The only damage was to the spray cans I forgot to bring in! The helmet continues to work just fine.

Pete

 

[dmftoy1]

Same here . . .I was worried about it too, but it survived the winter.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[enbloc]

http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/showthread.php?s=6489f6c507ea7658d0c713accd40861e&threadid=383&highlight=autodarkening

Doesn't appear to be a huge issue. Real Cold around here is twenties, once in 10 years or so we'll see temps below 10F. Thanks for the pointer.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I took a couple welding classes last year and left my helmet in my truck all week between classes. I'm sure it froze more than once in that time and I never noticed the first problem. I think you'll be fine. Just to be on the safe side, check out the Hobart forum mentioned above. Good, helpful folks there who've forgotten more about welding than I'll ever know if I live another hundred years. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[slowzuki]

Mine lives in -30 C all winter, it's fine!

 

[gmason]

one thing I would think about would be the shape of the batteries after freezing them. They could have leaked and caused the contacts to go bad.

Another would be the contacts to the batteries going from cold to hot. Condensation could take place and cause some crud to form on the contacts.

Just a few ideas to think about. I don't know if you can get in there to take a looksee at the batteries. Mine has the solar recharging and I think the whole system is pretty sealed-up.

gary

 

[theonlybull]

if it's a battery operated one, then they might be a concern, but if it's the solar activated one, it's no big deal. we have one that stays in our cube van (mobile welding shop) year round, and i think it's 4 years old now and it works fine. the identical hood that we had in our shop died after 2 years, and was replaced under warrenty

 

[enbloc]

It seems to be just fine - at least the LCD part. It does seem to let of lot of light in underneath and from the rear.

 

[keeney]

LCD materials will often spec a minimum storage temperature and a minimum operating temperature. Modern LCD materials might be rated for storage temperatures down to -40 before they are permanently damaged while their operating temperature may only be freezing or higher.

From direct experience, I know that the auto-darkening function can noticably slow down when you actually try and use them in low temperatures.

I was doing some outdoor welding last winter on an object too large to fit in the garage, and I noticed that as my helmet started getting colder, there would be an increasingly annoying brief visible flash at the time of striking the arc due to the time for the helmet to auto-darken getting slower and slower. Also, I would notice when the arc was stopped, the helmet would stay dark for a noticable moment.

The thing to remember about auto-darkening helmets is that the bulk of the eye-safety is unrelated to the darkening function. The UV and IR filtering is always in place assuming you have not removed the seemingly clear piece of glass that is the UV&IR filter.

Yes, intense enough visible light can hurt your eyes, but since intense visible light tends to constrict your pupils, or make you close your eyes, blink, or squint, its not as dangerous as the invisible UV and IR.

- Rick

 

[PineRidge]

I purchased my auto- darkening helmet about 2 months ago and asked the salesman if freezing temperatures had any ill effect on the electronics. I was told at the time that cold temperatures will not do permanent damage the unit. I have not used it in the cold enough to see if the helmet responds any slower in extreme low temperatures. My helmet is now out in the cold with the rest of my other tools.